The latest early education stats are out. And once again, they show that few places in America do a sorrier job preparing kids for kindergarten than Florida.
Basically, we serve a lot of kids, but serve them poorly … making us like the Taco Bell of early education.
So says the National Institute for Early Education Research, which surveys all of America’s pre-K programs each to see how many clear 10 key “benchmarks” that check for things like qualified teachers, basic learning standards, reasonable class sizes and vision and hearing screening.
Out of 10 benchmarks, Florida cleared four. That’s like an F-minus.
Florida’s Pre-k budget shortchanges early childhood education, critics say, just as in past years
Most states with programs meet from seven to all 10 standards. That includes Georgia, Kentucky and Mississippi.
Yes, Florida trails Kentucky in early education.
The results are predictably pathetic. Our kids start school behind the curve and often finish their lives the same way.